Refrigeration system



Jan- 16, 1934 P. G. HOLLINGER REFRIGERATION SYSTEM Filed Sept. 23. 1929 INVENTOR P G. Hoirfger BY www@ ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 16, 1934Y PATENT OFFC nErRIGERATIoN-SYSTEM raul G. Hollinger, Chicago, n1.

Application September 23, 1929 1 Serial No. 394,705

9 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in refrigeration systems, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a refrigeration system of the multiple type in which novel means is employed whereby the usual float valve constructions associated with the cooling units may be entirely dispensed with.

A further object is to provide a refrigeration system of a type employing a minimum amount of pipe in that a single pipe is connected with each cooling unit in lieu of the usual two pipe construction. p

A furtherV object is to provide a refrigeration system of the multiple type in which a minimum number of valves is employedand in which the valves are so arrangedthat the latter are easily reached and groupedin such a manner thaty ya relatively simple construction is employed.

A further object is to provide a refrigeration system of the multiple type in whichrneans is provided whereby an effective operation is attained regardless of the height of the building in which the system is installed.

A further object is to provide a refrigeration system of the multiple type in which all of the operating valves are grouped and associated with the condensing apparatus whereby the riecessity for providing valves in the living quarters is entirely eliminated.

Other objects and advantages will appearin the following specification, and the novelV features of the invention willbe particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming part of the application, in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the refrigeration system embodying my invention,

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail View of a portion of my device,

Figure 3 is a sectional detail view of one 0I the valves employed, and Y Figure 4 is a diagrammatic View Aof the cams embodied in my invention.

In carrying out my invention, I make use of a compressor 1 which may be driven by a motor 2 through the medium oi a belt 3. "The compressor is operatively connected with a condenser 4 by means of a pipe 5. The condenser is associated with a receiver 6. The latter is connected with the pipe 5 by means of a pipe 7. A pipe 8 leads from the receiver 6 to a valve (Cl. (i2-115) munication with the valve 9 by means of a pipe 10, The pipe 8 is extended as at 11 and is operatively'connected with a valve 12.

A short pipe 13 is associated with the valve 12 and is connected with a section of a pipe 14 6o which is provided with a valve 15. One end of the pipe 14 is associated with an elbow 16 which supports one end of a pipe 17. The latter is connected with a pipe 18 through the medium of an elbow 19. One end of the pipe 18 is pro- 65 vided with a flexible tube 20 which is connected with a pipe portion 21 operatively connected with a receiver 22. The receiver is provided with a loop 23 for receiving yone end of'a lever 24 which is fulcrumed as at 25 upon a bracket 26 which 70 may be mounted upon the wall of a building or any 'other suitable supporting structure. The lever is provided with a weight 27 which may be moved vupon the lever for changing the distance of the weight from the fulcrum.

The pipe 21 is connected with the receiver near the top of the latter. The receiver is also provided with a pipe 28 which is located near the bottom of the receiver. The pipe 28 is pro- *videdv with a flexible connection 29 which is 80 associated With a valve 30. The valve 30 is associated with a pipe 31. 'Ihelatteris connected with a valve 32. The pipe 14 is extended as at 33 and is in communication withthe valve 32 by means of a pipe 34. The pipe 33 is provided 85 with a by-pass construction 35.` The pipe 33 is connected with a pipe 36 which also communicates with the pipe 3 1 as indicated by the pipe 37. Thepipe 36 leads to a pressure control 38.

A pipe 39 leads from the pressure control to a 90 pipe 40 whichis connected with the compressor 1 and the condenser 4 as well as the receiver 6.

In Figure 3 I have shown a sectional detail View of Vthe construction of the valves 9, 12, 15, 30, and 32. Since all of the valves are identical 95 in construction, the description of these valves will be conned to a single construction. The valve 9 shown in Figure 3 comprises a hollow body portion 41 having openings 42 and 43 therein for receiving the pipe 10 and the pipe 44 which is 100 connected with the pipes 8 and 11 shown in Figure 1. The body portion is provided with a valve seat'45 which is arranged to close the passageway between the pipes 10 and 44. The body portion is provided with an opening 46 105 through which a valve stem 47 associated with a valve 48 projects. The outer end of the Valve ste-rn is provided with a suitable Washer 49 against which one end of a coil spring 50 bears. The other end of the spring rests upon the end of the 11,0

body portion. The spring 50 normally tends to hold the valve 48 firmly in its seat 45. The coil spring 50 and that portion of the stem 47 which projects to the exterior of the body portion are enclosed within a flexible cap l.

In Figure 1 I have shown the valve 9 as being provided with a rocker arm 52 which is pivotally supported at 53. One end of the rocker arm is provided with a roller 54 which is disposed in engagement with the surface of a drum 55. The valves 12, 15, 32, and are provided with similar rocker arms 56, 57, 58, and 59, respectively. All of the rocker arms are identical in construction and operation. The drum 55 is provided with a plurality of raised portions or cam portions 60, 61, 62, 63, and 64. In Figure 3 I have shown the rocker arm 52 as being provided with a threaded opening for receiving a pressure member 66. The latter is provided with a lock nut 67 for rigidly fixing the pressure member with respect to the rocker arm. Each rocker arm is provided with an identical pressure member. Preferably, the inlet opening in the valve body 41 and the outlet opening are so arranged that the pressure will always tend to hold the valve rmly in its closed position. One end ofthe body portion is closed by means of a plug 68. The latter may be soldered for providing a sealed closure. The body portion is provided with a ange 69 whereby the valve may be rigidly secured upon any suitable supporting structure as indicated at 70 by means of suitable bolts 71.

Referring now to Figure 2, it will be noted that the drum 55 is mounted for rotation upon suitable bearings 72. The latter may be mounted upon the supporting structure 70 which may be of any suitable panel like construction. The support 70 may also be a part of the iloor in the building where the installation is made if it is desired to mount the equipment in a horizontal plane rather than in a vertical arrangement as disclosed in the drawing. The drum is provided with a shaft 73 which carries a worm gear 74,. lIhe latter is disposed in mesh with a worm 75 which is associated with a motor 76. The gear ratio is such that a relatively low speed of the drum 55 is attained.

In Figure 1 I have shown a pipe 77 as leading from the compressor 1 to the pipe 33. The compressor motor 2 is provided with a conductor 78 which leads to the source of current. A second conductor 79 leads from the motor to the pressure control 33. A conductor 80 leads from the pressure control to the source of current associated with the conductor 78. Thus it will be seen that the circuit through the motor may be opened and closed by reason of the pressure control 38 as will be more fully explained later.

In Figure 1 I have shown a conductor 81 leading from the conductor 80 to the motor 76. A conductor 82 leads from the motor 76 to a conductor 83. The conductor 83 is positioned for permitting electrical connection with a conductor 84 connected with a conductor 85 which leads to the conductor 78. One end of each of the conductors 83 and 84 is disposed in operative relation with respect to the weight 27, whereby the movement of the weight in one direction will tend to establish electrical connection between the two conductors and movement of the weight in the opposite direction will open the circuit at this point. The opposite ends of the conductors are positioned in operative relation with respect to the drum 55. These ends tend to move into electrical contact at all times. When, however, the drum 55 is in the position shown in Figure 1, the conductors are moved apart by reason of a lug 86 which is carried by the drum. A slight rotation of the drum will move the lug out of engagement with the conductor 83, whereby the latter will move into electrical connection with the conductor 84.

The pipe 31 is extended as at 87 and 88, whereby branch pipes 89 and 90 may be operatively connected with the portion'88. The lines 89 and 90 pass to the various floors in a building and provide means whereby cooling units 91 associated with refrigerators 92 may be operatively connected with the refrigeration system. Service valves 93 to 99, inclusive, may be provided.

In Figure yl I have shown the pressure control 38, themotor 2, the compressor 1, and the condenser as being mounted upon a supporting base 100.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. One side of the valve 30 is operatively connected with the bottom of the receiver 22. The other side of the valve is operatively connected with the cooling units by means of the pipe 3l of the portions 87 and 88 and the branches 89 and 90. The valve 30 permits the passage of liquid refrigerant from the receiver 22 to the cooling units. It will be noted in Figure 4, which is a diagrammatic plan view of the cam arrangement upon the drum 55, thatthe `valves 9, 12, 15, 32, and 30 are opened and closed at difierent times and that the operation of these valves is entirely determined by reason of the cams. The valve 32 prevents liquid refrigerant from passing to the lower part of the compressor 1 during the charging period of the system. The by-pass 35 permits a limited amount of liquid refrigerant to pass to the compressor even though the valve 32 is closed.

The valves 12 and 15 may be placed incommunication with the receiver 22 through the pipe 17. In other words, these valves communicate with the upper part of the receiver. The valves l2 and 15, together with thervalve 9, control the pressure within the receiver 22. The opposite side of the valve 15 is connected with the low side of the compressor, The valve 12 holds the liquid refrigerant in the receiver 6 during the periodof reduced pressure within the receiver 22. The valve 9 controls the operation of the condenser 4, the pressure on the high side of the compressor, the receiver 6, and also the receiver 22.

This may be termed the charging period. Duri ingthe `timethat the valve 9 is closed, the con.- denser will' tend to ll With liquid refrigerant. At this time the compressed vapor is not condensed by the condenser but passes directly to the receiver 6.

`For the purpose of describing the operation of the system, let it bev assumed that the valve 30 is closed. "At this time theY valve 32 will be opened, the valve 15 closed, the valve 12 opened,

together with the valve9. The refrigerantvapor f is drawn from the top of the cooling units through their respective pipe connections, through the pipe 31, the valve 32, and into the compressor. The vapor at this time of course is compressed and passed to the lcondenser 4 where the vapor isconverted to liquid. Liquid from the condenser passes through the valves9 and 12, the pipe 'portions 17, 18, 2Q, and 21, and into the receiver 22. The liquidpassed to the receiver is held therein byreason ofthe fact that the valvefSO isv closed.

ico

The receiver 22 will be gradually lled with the liquid refrigerant. When a predetermined amount of 'liquid refrigerant. has been passed into the receiver 22, the receiver will tend to move downwardly against the influence of the weight 27. Such movement of the receiver will cause an elevation of the weight, at which time the conductor 83 is moved into electrical connection with the conductor 84 for closing the circuit through the motor 76.

Operation of the motor will cause a rotation of the drum 55 through the medium of the gears '74 and 75. Almost simultaneously with the closing of the circuit through the conductors 83 and 84, the lug 86 will be moved out of engagement with the conductor 83, whereby the opposite ends ofthe conductors are also placed in electrical connection. At this time the contacts are arranged in parallel. The electrical connection caused by the moving away of the lug 86 permits a complete rotation of the drum 55. When the drum has completed its rotation, the lug 86 is moved into engagement with one of the conductors for breaking the circuit. As soon as any of the liquid refrigerant is removed from the receiver 22, the latter of course will decrease in weight, whereby the weight 27 will tend to move the receiver back toits original position whereby the circuit influenced by the weight 27 will be opened.-

The drug 55 rotates slowly. During the rotation, the valve 9 will be closed, whereby higher pressure is built upon the receiver 6. This pressure is conveyed through the pipe 8, the valve 12 which is still open,'through the ypipe 17, back to the'receiver 22. This pressure is appliedto the liquid in the receiver 22'for a short time. As the drum continues to move, the valve 32 closes and the valve 30 opens immediately. This permits the liquid refrigerant to iiow into the pipe 3l and to the various cooling units in the system. When the valve 32 has been closed, a certain amount of liquid refrigerant passes the by-pass 35 and enters the compressor, thereby maintaining normal pressures. As the drum continues to rotate, the valve 12 closes, thereby cutting off the `pressure upon the refrigerant liquid in the receiver 22. The valve 9 then opens for permitting the normal operation of the condenser 4 but the condensed liquid refrigerant, is held in the .receiver 6 by reason of the valve 12. The valve 15 now opens, and, since the valve is provided with a throttle action, the pressure within the receiver 22 will be removed gradually. Any liquid refrigerant in the cooling units abovethe inlet openings therein and in the pipe lines leading to the cooling units returns to the receiver 22 through the valve 30. The valves are now again in the positions defined above in connection with the description of the operation of the system. When the drum has completed its rotation, the lug 86 moves the conductor S3 out of electrical engagement with its companion conductor for breaking the circuit through the motor 76. The pressure control 38 is arranged to break the circuit through the motor 2 when the pressure reaches a predetermined low point. When, however, the pressure increases, the pressure control 38 will function to close the circuit through the motor 2 for operatinCr the compressor.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a system in which each cooling unit is provided with a single opening for admitting the refrigerant uid to the cooling units and also for conveying the refrigerant vapor from the cooling units to the compressing means. By reason of this construction I have entirely dispensed with the Vusual oat valves, whereby a relatively simple construction is required, A relatively small number of valves is necessary, and it will be noted that the number of Vvalves does not increase, regardless of the number of cooling units associ.- ated together in a single system.

'I'he condenser 4 may be anyone of the various standard types now employed in refrigeration systems. Some of the condensers are air cooled, while. others are cooled by liquid, usually water. In case it may be desired to use a liquid cooling medium in connection with my system, the pipe 44 is preferably disconnected from communication with 4the pipe 8, at which time the pipe 44-may be connected with a liquid supply, whereby .the liquid may be circulated through the pipe 10 and through the cooling coils in the condenser. The water of course passes from the coils associated with the condenser through any suitable means. Under these conditions, the valve 9 will function as a controlling means for thecirculation of the cooling medium. When using the pipe line 10 in connection with the liquid cooling medium, the upper end of tht pipev'? is connected with the bottom of the condenser 4 rather than with the pressure pipe 40, as shown in Figure 1.

It will be understood of course that the cams to 64, inclusive, may be changed in length for adjusting the operation of the cam drum to suit variousconditions. In other words, some of the cams may be lengthened and under certain conditions shortened. While I have mentioned the elimination of oat valves, it will be understood of course that the usual expansion valves are also eliminated by reason of my structure.

InFigure 4 I have indicated the contact positions of the rollersassociated with the rocker armsduring the cooling period, at which time the circuit through ythe motor 76 is opened as shown in Figure 1. The direction of rotation of the drum is indicated by the arrow in Figure 2.

I claim:

1. In a refrigeration system, a movable, liquidrefrigerant receiver, a cooling unit, valve-controlled connections between the receiver and said coolingY unit, andpower means iniiuenced by the movement of said receiver when the latter has been provided, with a definite amount of refrigerant liquid for causing a movement of the latter within the system.

2. In a refrigeration system employing a compressor and a condenser, a movable, liquid-refrigerant receiver, cooling units, valve-controlled means for placing said receiver in communication with said compressor and said condenser, and power means influenced by the movement of said receiver for causing a movement of the i liquid refrigerant within the system.

3. In a refrigeration system employing a compressor and a condenser, a movable, liquidrefrigerant receiver, cooling units, valve-con trolled means for placing said receiver in communication with said compressor and said condenser, power means influenced by the movement of said receiver for causing a movement of the liquid refrigerant within the system, and

pressure-controlled means for starting and stop- I ping the compressor when the pressure within the system has reached a predetermined low point or a predetermined high point.

4. In a refrigeration system, a movable, liquidrefrigerant receiver, cooling units, valve-controlled connections between the receiver and said cooling units, electrically controlled means influenced by the movement of said receiver when the latter has been provided with a predetermined amount of refrigerant liquid for causing a movement of the liquid refrigerant within the system, and pressure-controlled power means for condensing refrigerant vapor withinrthe system and forcing the liquid to the refrigerant receiver.

5. In a refrigeration systememploying a com.- pressor and a condenser, a movable, liquid-refrigerant receiver, cooling units, valve-controlled connections between the receiver and said cooling units, each of said cooling units being provided with a single connection with said valvecontrolled connections, and power means influenced by the movement of said movable, 1iquid-refrigerant receiver when a predetermined amount of refrigerant liquid has been conveyed thereto for causing a movement of the refrigerant liquid within the system.

6. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a liquid-refrigerant container, a cooling unit, a single pipe line for providing communication between the container and the cooling unit, a valve connected with the pipe line for cutting off communication between the containerV and the cooling unit, means for withdrawing gaseous refrigerant through the single pipe line from the cooling unit, liquefying said refrigerant and forcing the liquid-refrigerant into the container, and means for opening the valve when the liquidrefrigerant in the container exceeds a predetermined amount whereby the liquid-refrigerant may be forced through the single pipe line and into said cooling unit.

7. In a refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a liquid-refrigerant container, a cooling unit, pipe means for providing communication between the container and the cooling. unit, a valve connected with the pipe means for cutting off communication between the container and the cooling unit, means for withdrawing gaseous refrigerant from the cooling unit, liquefying said refrigerant and forcing the liquid-refrigerant into the container, means for opening the valve when the liquid-refrigerant in the. container exceeds a predetermined amount whereby the liquid-refrigerant may be forced into said cooling unit, and means for releasing the pressure on the liquid-refrigerant in theV container subsequent to the filling of the cooling unit with the liquid-refrigerant whereby the surplus liquidrefrigerant may return to the container.

8. In a refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a liquid-refrigerant container, a cooling unit, a compressor and a condenser, pipe means in communication with the container, the cooling unit,` the compressor and the condenser, a plurality of Valves connected with the pipe means, and valve actuating means, certain of said valves being operable by the valve actuating means whereby the compressor and condenser respectively may withdraw and condense gaseous refrigerant from the cooling unit, the condenser forcing'the condensed refrigerant into the container, certain of said Valves being operable by the valve actuating means when the liquidrefrigerant in the container exceeds a predetermined amount, whereby the liquid-refrigerant may be forcedsfrom the container into the cooling unit, and certain of the valves being operable by the valve actuating means subsequently to the lling of the cooling unit with the liquid-refrigerant, whereby the surplus liquid-refrigerant may return tothe container.

9. In a refrigerating apparatus, the combination of a liquid-refrigerant container, a cooling unit, a compressor and a condenser, pipe means in communication with the container, the cooling unit, the compressor and the condenser, a plurality of valves connected with the pipe means, and valve actuating means, certain of said valves being operable by the valve actuating means whereby the compressor and condenser respectively may withdraw and condense gaseous refrigerant from the cooling unit, the condenser forcing the condensed refrigerant into the container, certain of said valves being operable by the valve actuating means when the liquid-refrigerant in the container exceeds a predetermined amount, whereby the. liquid-refrigerant may be forced from the container into the cooling unit, and certain of the valves Vbeing operable by the valve actuating means subsequently to the filling ofthe cooling unit with the liquid-refrigerant,

whereby the surplus liquid-refrigerant may return to the container, said valve actuating means comprising a rotatable cam means operatively connected with the valves and a power means for rotating said cam means.

PAUL G. HOLLINGER. 

